Now it might be that the word “moderator” has different meanings in different contexts. I’m not going to get out my Websters for this one, but I’ll briefly say that I’ve always understood a moderator’s job to be to assemble a balanced panel and to keep an interesting and lively discussion going. And there’s nothing wrong with a moderator asking a tough questoin once in a while, but it should be balanced. And if you have five or ten posts in a row from one point of view, perhaps a moderator could say something like: Come on guys, let’s give the other side a chance to speak.
Perhaps that definition is just wrong here, or even on the Internet in general. If so, please let me know.
But if it is at all correct then can someone explain why tomndebb is allowed to post lengthy opinionated pieces and to do so as a moderator? As someone who has disagreed with him, I just want to say that the idea of taking the time to respond after a “moderator” has weighed in at length, just seems kind of ridiculous.
You’re telling me that you’ve been here since 2004 and you still don’t grok what a Moderator in the SDMB parlance actually does? Or for that matter a moderator on any messageboard?
A moderator moderates the behaviour of other posters, that is to say if someone’s getting out of line by doing such things spamming, trolling, abusing other posters, they will step in and warn that person to behave or remove them from the board as is seen fit. They’re like a hall monitor, taking the troublemakers to detention and making the place much nicer for the rest of us to be in.
But moderators are also posters. They have the right to post whatever opinions they wish to have. If a moderator is speaking as a Mod, then they will notify their post in such a way by stating “Mod hat on” or “speaking as a moderator” or “MOD WARNING” or something like that. If someone with a moderator title posts to a thread, they’re not the be-all and end-all of the conversation. They’re merely a person who has a title, but is stating their views like everyone else in the thread. People have and frequently do disagree with moderators around this place, and I’ve not yet seen a person be removed for it (unless they were a troll or a sock, but then it’s their breaking of the rules that gets them removed, not simply disagreeing with the Powers).
Right, our moderators are also regular posters. Unless he specifically said “Mod Note” or “Moderator Underoos On” or “Tweeet! — Mod Warning” or something similar, than he was just plain ol’ tomndebb, not Moderator tomndebb.
We’ve discussed moderators having different usernames for their mod duties, but it’s deemed unworkable for several reasons - for one, it would slow down the moderating considerably and for two it would just lead to errors of signing in and for three, NO ONE gets to have more than one username, period.
If you feel that some specific altercation with poster **tomndebb **is leading Moderator **tomndebb **to issue Warnings to you unfairly, report his post and the secret Cabal with convene and make a decision. Personally, I’ve never seen such a thing.
I have to defend tomndebb’s participation on the board. I have never had trouble distinguishing the posts he makes as a member of the board from his posts as a moderator. (Since he clearly labels his “moderator” posts as such, it is easy to determine which role he is taking at a given time.)
As a poster, he definitely has his opinions, which I may or may not agree with, but his posts are well thought-out and interesting. And as a moderator, I have never seen him be anything but fair.
Now, if you really want to debate whether the conservative POV is generally welcome here, that is another issue…but I don’t think Tom’s participation is the problem.
(On the off-chance that you are referring to the current spate of posts by Don26, please note that despite his behavior, he has not yet been given a warning for his rudeness. I have, first mildly and later strongly urged him to behave himself. In wholly separate contexts, I have also pointed out specific errors of fact or logic (as have numerous other posters), that I do not actually associate with “conservatives.” YMMV)
Yeah, it’s not perfect. I was taken aback by it at first, as well. Then I realized that they act primarily as posters, and moderators only when they see something wrong. It wouldn’t hurt if they had some conservative mods, but don’t hold your breath. So think of them as human. As you’ll see they’re capabale of the same brillaince, stupidity, grace, rudeness, honor and dishonor as any regular poster.
My understanding is that when a mod is posting as a regular poster, the posts can be as long and opiniated as they like, just like you and me as regular Joes can waffle on as much as WE like.
What??? Everybody has the chance to speak whenever they want to weigh in on a debate or issue. It’s not a real-life forum where people drown each other out in the rush to get their POV across…you write, you preview, you submit, and your opinion will be there on the screen just like everybody elses. RL forums are where moderators and facilitators are needed to shush the screamers and nudge the more reticent into sharing as well. Here they provide a totally different function, or hadn’t you noticed?
And anyway, what has this to do with political affiliations? What’s being conservative got to do with it?
There has been mention in the past of the possibility of the mods being able to make posts with and without “Moderator” under their name. I think it was regarded as an idea that wouldn’t work for various practical reasons. Mods around here will usually state that they have their “mod hat” on when modding, in circumstances where it is unclear. You can take it as a given that if Tomndebb is participating in the debate (as opposed to commenting on rules or poster behaviour) he has his mod hat off.
Well, just to keep the record straight, I brought an issue to the Cabal and was told to wait until Tuba Diva got back. That was over a month ago. If anything, the other mods circled the wagons to protect the misdeeds of one of their own. Tuba Diva never got back to me. If the mod in question got the smack he so well deserved I do not know.
That definition applies to “assembling a panel”, as in a live debate in the flesh or on TV or the radio. A moderator, on an internet/web message board, is someone who enforces the various rules of the message board. An administrator not only enforces the rules, but also controls the way the message board is run, that is, what functions are allowed, how the message board looks, things like that. In a live or broadcast debate, the time alloted for the debate is limited, so a moderator must make sure that all the panel participants have a chance to air their views. Here, as kambuckta has pointed out, everyone of every persuasion is able to present his/her views without an outside time limitation.
We don’t have a political litmus test for moderation candidates…we’ll accept conservatives, liberals, whatever, as long as they have good moderator potential. We’ve had very conservative mods on the SDMB before. Dex is pretty conservative, and he’s an admin.
I won’t talk about any “misdeeds” tomndebb has committed, but I WILL say that he’s highly regarded among the moderation staff. I admire him as a poster and as a moderator. I sometimes don’t agree with his views, but I do think that he has thought long and hard about them. I also think that he’s a great asset to this board.
NO mod or admin can please everyone all the time. Even an inactive mod will piss people off by not doing mod work. I think that tomndebb does a great job overall. I will admit that I don’t ready many of his GD posts or mod actions, because I don’t read many GD threads, so I could be wrong. However, I’ve never seen him moderate in a way that I disagree with. He’s handled things differently than I would have on some occasions, but we’re not all one vast hive mind. Yeah, I know that some people aren’t happy with MY moderation/administration either. But them’s the breaks.
